Atlantic fleet: A Flagship's Requiem
by a ship nerd
Summary: Bismarck is the Flagship of the East Atlantic fleet. So why the heck did he travel through the arctic and half of the Pacific ocean alone? The answer, he's on a hunt for the only ship he cares about. His sister.
1. Prologe

The gentle ting of the music box could only be heard by the one who held it. His eyes were closed, concentrating on the music it gave off. It wasn't a very complex tune, but for him nothing could replace it. Nothing and no one could ever replace who had given it to him. It sat next to his right knee, and was small enough to be a necklace.

The arctic was cold, but he hardly felt it. Even as he shed a tear and it froze to his face he didn't acknowledge it. A tear? How could he cry? His kind didn't feel emotions. Yet another rolled down his cheek, and another.

Why was he crying?

The answer eluded him, or at least it partly did. He knew that she was gone, and that he was looking for her. He also knew that he had abandoned everything he was supposed to be to find her. But he shouldn't be acting like he was just because she was missing right?

"Where are you sister?" he whispered into the void. She had to be somewhere. She couldn't have died. Yet where was she? Where could she be?

No answers. Or at least very few answers.

Ever since she disappeared, he had felt… Depressed. Miserable. Lonely.

He was all alone.

Before he had given almost anything to be someplace alone and quiet. But now without her-

 _Bang._

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt himself hit something. He opened his eyes, and saw that his bow had rammed a giant piece of ice.

An iceberg.

He clenched his fist and growled, standing up. That iceberg was blocking his path. That iceberg represented the sorrow he felt. That iceberg had just taught him a new emotion.

Rage.

He opened his bow, exposing the Super Gravity Cannon. It glowed a light grey as it charged, the the same color as the designs that stretched across his entire hull. With clenched fists and jaw, he fired.

The canon obliterated the iceberg, leaving nothing even below the water.

"I don't care what it takes!" he screamed to the air. "I will find you Tirpitz! And nothing is going to stop me!"

Bismarck then powered at full speed into the distance, determination flooding his very being.

 **A/N: what do you guys think? Give me 3 reviews and I'll continue the story.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(Submerge successful)

(Depth: 1.3 kilometers)

{Maintain depth}

(Ship status: normal)

(Engine status: drifting mode)

(Nanomaterial reserves: 362%)

(Weapon status: normal)

(All systems normal)

{Stealth sequence: initiated}

{Begin system power down}

(System shutting down)

(Standby)

(System shutdown complete)

(Sonar systems online)

{Continue collecting surface data}

…

(Fog ship detected)

(Closing distance at medium speed)

(2 propellers)

(Displacement: 6010 tons)

(Chances of it being a standard Pacific light cruiser: 93%)

(No mental model detected)

{Begin gradual surface}

Bismarck opened his eyes as he slowly rose back to the surface with little to no detection. 100 meters below the surface, he restarted his systems and powered up his defences. He shot to the surface right next to the cruiser, the water erupting around him like that of a volcano.

As he surfaced, he powered up his 6 inch secondaries on the side of the ship. He smirked as he fired them into the side of the ship. It was unprepared for the attack, and a fair amount of damage was taken. It was easily regenerable, and the cruiser immediately began to raise its Klein Field. It was too late.

2 large vents on Bismarck's starboard side opened up. It was a weapon completely unknown to the Pacific fleet, one that had a very interesting effect on exposed Nanomaterials. Bismarck closed his eyes and concentrated. He focused on the energy released by his weapon, and began the anti-regeneration procedure.

The loose Nanomaterials on the light cruiser's damaged hull began to spread. The Nanomaterials that made up the hull of the ship began returning to their pure, original, silver colored Nanomaterial state. The effect spread like wildfire, beginning to reduce the ship to nothing but pure Nanomaterials. The effect eventually reached the Klein generator, reforming it back into its original state. When the Field dropped, the vents on the side of the ship began to draw in the Nanomaterials.

Bismarck absorbed them into his reserves. Soon there was nothing left of the ship, the entire cruiser had been absorbed. All with the exception of the Union Core. Bismarck held the undamaged Core in his hand, linking with it. He put its weapon systems on shutdown, and set it to be apart of his fleet, with him as the flagship. It was in no position to resist, so it did as commanded. After that, he walked down into a part of his ship to a safe.

He opened it, and approached the locked chest inside. He touched the lock and the chest opened. He then set the core down inside, on top and beside the other Cores in his collection. He took an unnecessary deep breath, then closed the chest. It relocked, and he left the safe.

He arrived back at the bridge, and began sailing forward on the surface. It was night-time, so it would be difficult for the Fog to find him. As he sailed, he took hold of his necklace music box, and it began playing.

He let the song play from the beginning to the end once, then he closed the box, and let it fall back to his chest. This was the last thing he had that was given to him by her. It was something he had never told anyone about. He took another breath, and let it out. He then opened his eyes, and looked to the horizon.

"Where are you Tirpitz?" he asked despite knowing she couldn't hear him. So why did he ask? He didn't know. All he knew was that the Atlantic fleet had abandoned the search for her even when he didn't give up, so he would find her himself instead of asking for help from comrades that abandoned the only thing he cared about.

He gripped his music box one more time before he walked back to a secret room he had created. Inside was a giant complex of wood and pipes, a colossal structure that he had created using the designs of a human instrument and Nanomaterials he had collected. He sat down on the bench, and began to pull knobs and flip switches.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and let his hands hover over the keys. Then he brought them down and began to play a song of pain, anger, and sadness. He loved the sound of the pipe organ. He could remember how he and his sister had heard the sound of European Hymns from off the coast. It had been an incredible experience. His processer had gone nuts when he heard it. The melodies and harmonies; the gentle beat of the music and dozens, maybe hundreds, of voices all singing together as one.

And the organ. The organ couldn't even be described with any human word. Some pipes of the instrument could give out a sound so high or low pitched that the human ear wasn't even physically able to register it. The Fog didn't have this disadvantage, and the sounds that were played outside of the hearable music spectrum deserved their own acknowledgement. Tirpitz had been there too, by his side. She had had the same experiences, and felt the same thing. It was the first thing that forced them to feel any kind of emotion.

Bismarck had become addicted to this kind of emotion, much like a drug. Tirpitz had fallen into a similar category. Much like any other Fog ship, they had thought at first that emotions were unnecessary. But when they felt what they were like, that ideology vanished. Like humans, they now craved these emotions. He knew that it could have caused trouble, but neither of them cared.

He continued playing the song, the organ ringing in its elegant beauty. Now he didn't play joyful songs, he only played those that would express his emotions. Tirpitz had become his source of happiness, so now that she was gone he could not be happy.

Without his sister, he had no purpose.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bismarck was submerged again, he was inside a place humans would have called the 'Admiral's Bridge'. He was sitting in a chair with his eyes shut. If you were from the Fog, it would look like he was concentrating on data. If you were human, it would have looked like he was asleep.

In technicality, he was both.

He was in the closet state the Fog could get to to being asleep. It was a power saving mode that shut down sections of his ship, and even completely shut off his graviton engines. His Union Core remained active, and continued processing data and information subconsciously. This also attributed to another side effect however.

Dreams.

Much like human dreams, Fog dreams are created from memories and thoughts, ideas and theories, opinions and perspectives. However, the Fog lacked the kind imagination that humans possess. The Fog do possess some, but they couldn't make anywhere near things humans had come up with. Do to that, Fog dreams were more of recreations of their memories, based on how they choose or wanted to remember them.

Or how they didn't want to.

 _The coast of Germany_

 _2 months before the Blue Steel's delivery of the Vibration Warhead_

 _Fog Atlantic Fleet, Flagship Bismarck_

 _I opened my eyes to see the coast in the distance. Despite the fact I couldn't see it, I knew that waves were crashing on the beaches. I knew that somewhere past that on the land were cities probably filled with German people, going about their business. It made me frown._

" _Something wrong, Bismarck?" I turned my head to look at my sister who had a gentle and yet cocky smile on her face. Her long and flowing blond hair waved in the wind like a flag; had it not have been blowing, it would have gone down below her waist. Her captivating ocean blue eyes looked right at me and seemed to pierce right through my own. She wore a grey coat that covered her large bust, with long black gloves on her arms. On her head she wore a German WWII officer's hat, just without the eagle and swastika. On her feet and legs she wore rubber boots, and long socks that extended halfway up her thighs. She wore a grey mini skirt, and had a hand on her right hip. Said hip was stuck out to her side and showed off her elegant curves; something she had plenty of._

 _If a human were to see her, and he had no idea that she was from the Fog, a few words he would use to describe her would probably be along the lines of sexy, or attractive. If I were human, I would probably have agreed with them. But I'm not; and despite the fact that my sister and I were openly feeling emotions, feelings of affection or lust were nonexistent. For us anyway._

 _I turned the rest of my body to face her, and to answer her question. "It's just a shame really," I replied blankly. "These people are probably following orders, or are just terrified of us. It's not entirely different to our opinion of them."_

 _"Where are you going with this?" She asked with a mix of confusion and curiosity._

 _"I'm just saying, this war is starting to get tiresome. Especially now with this new weapon the U.N. are producing. The humans are proving to be more persistent than we first estimated. In the end we will be victorious, but how long will it take? And at what cost? How many dozens of Fog and thousands of humans are going to die before we can make peace?"_

 _Tirpitz pulled the front of her hat down over her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I do agree with you Bismarck. But it's not something as members of the Fog we should question. Even as flagships. The Admiralty Code is very clear about that."_

 _"Ah yes," I turned away slowly. "The all mighty Admiralty Code. Who put this code into operation anyway? Who made it in the first place? If we don't even know, should we even obey it?"_

 _"You know, that doesn't sound very reassuring coming from the Atlantic's Flagship ," she said as she pulled the rim of her hat back up._

 _"Even if he's you brother?" I asked._

 _"Especially if it's my brother."_

 _I looked to the ever approaching shoreline. "Let's stop for a moment and go ashore." I could feel Tirpitz' confusion, and her eyebrow rose without me even looking at her. "If we're going to have war with them, I want to atleast know the people we're fighting." I jumped off the clean deck and landed on a platform I made from nanomaterials, it moved with my steps as walked to the shore. I changed my outfit as I walked forward just above the water, changing into something more appropriate for the beach. I heard Tirpitz do the same as she followed my lead._

The Pacific Ocean

Present day

Bismarck opened his eyes as he awoke from the dream. He blinked once, twice, then stood up in the bridge. He walked over to the window, but there wasn't much to see. He was still submerged, and it was pitch black outside. It gave him time to think about his dream, and what had come after it.

To put it simply, he had gone through the Fog version of hell. He had managed to escape the Atlantic and sink the two Fog subs that had been escorting him. They had told him that they were going to help him search for his missing sister; but once they got to a place that there was no way to escape back into the Atlantic Ocean, they attacked him without warning. He had managed to sink them both, but not before he had taken heavy damage. His nanomaterial reserves had pretty much run dry, and he was forced to learn how to extract the particles from his fallen escorts. Or more, the two that had betrayed him.

Their supplies had lasted him long enough for him to navigate through the Pacific without the danger of running into Yamato's Arctic Fleet. But even still, he didn't exactly know why those subs had attacked him. Before he sank them, they had said something along the lines of 'our orders are to sink you'. So who ordered them to do so? And why? Losing one of the two most powerful Atlantic battleships was a sever loss for the fleet. So why would members of his own fleet betray him, while he was searching for that other battleship? Out of all the ships to sink, why would he be considered the greatest threat? Why would they try to sink their own Flagship?

He didn't know much as all contact with the Atlantic Fleet had been lost when he entered the Arctic. He had not attempted to re-connect however; he was afraid that if he did, the Pacific fleet or Western American fleet would think that he had defected from the Fog. He had also realized something when U-66 and U-505 had engaged him. He was powerful, but could not be prepared to compensate for overwhelming force. It's why he had incorporated new modifications and technology into his systems.

Plus, he had a plan. He had thought that it would take a while, but he had managed to collect most of everything he needed surprisingly quickly. If he managed to put it together, he would have the potential to become the most powerful Fog ship to exist. Even more powerful than Super Battleship Yamato.


	4. Chapter 3

Eastern Pacific Fog Fleet

Battle Cruiser Alaska, Alaska class Battle Cruiser name ship

The Fog Battle Cruiser sailed in silence. She had been sent to investigate a series of Fog disappearances. Several light cruisers, both from the Pacific and American(Eastern Pacific) fleets, had gone missing in this area. Alaska could remember being in contact with recently pronounced Pacific flagship Hiei. Using their concept com-system, they had the following conversation.

"So, why would you want me to go investigate? This sounds like something the West Pacific fleet and you as their flagship would take care of. So why bother a member of the East Pacific fleet?"

"6 Nagara Cruisers and 6 Cleveland Class cruisers don't just disappear. I would go myself, but I've only been flagship for a short time. It's been stressful, especially since rogue patrol submarine I-401's recent delivery of the Vibration Warhead to the United States. We are almost on even fighting terms now, and it's possible her influence is spreading across the Fog."

"Being on even terms is not good. And what do you mean, 'across the Fog'?" Alaska asked as she set her teacup down.

"It wasn't just I-401 that went rogue. My 3 sisters' mental models regrettably have either joined forces with I-401, or have abandoned their duties as Fog ships. Not to mention various other ships, such as heavy cruiser Takao, and fast battleship Hyuga have done the same. I also haven't been able to confirm it, but I heard a rumor that something big has been going on in the Atlantic. There is also reason to believe that because of that a rogue Atlantic heavy cruiser is the cause of the disappearances."

"So that's it huh," It was less of a question and more of a statement. Alaska leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "So you want me to go find this cruiser, and do what?"

"Sink it," Hiei said with an edge in her tone. Alaska looked up at her, surprise in her eyes.

"Just, sink it?"

"Don't make contact, do not hail them, do not use the Concept Com system. Just sink it and do it quickly. We can't risk anyone else becoming abnormal. It's been determined that any kind of contact from the abnormals can and likely will spread the abnormality to one's self. So sink it. Your ship was designed as a cruiser killer, it's time to put that to use."

So here Alaska was, sailing in the north Pacific Ocean, trying to find this rogue heavy cruiser. She had been searching for a while, with nothing turning up. Nothing had turned up on sonar, and there was nothing on the surface for miles around. In all honesty, she was kinda bored. She leaned back against the front of her forward most gun turret and sighed to herself.

As a Fog ship, she should have been awake and alert, but she was tired and bored from two days of searching with no trace of this Cruiser she was supposed to find. She didn't even know what Hiei meant exactly when she said the Cruiser came from the Atlantic. She didn't know a lot about what went on in the Atlantic, but there were other United States modeled ships in the Atlantic.

The Fog had many factions in the world; from the 2 Pacific Fleets, the Russo-Arctic Fleet, and several others. Many of which were obscure and unknown to each other. The most communication between Alaska's and the West's factions at one time was when the west gave details about I-401. That was as far as she knew however. One other reason the different factions were even aware of each other's existence is in their identity. Occasionally she would contact other Fog ships with American design. She had talked to one of them the day before, it had been the battleship Texas. She had contacted her via the Concept Com system.

"Are you aware of any Atlantic ships going rogue?" she had asked.

"None in the western' Atlantic Fleet. Can't rightly say much about the east though. Ah have heard a few rumors if that'll interest ya," Texas said with a light southern accent.

"Anything will probably do at this point," Alaska replied as she leaned back in her chair.

"Ah heard 'a couple months ago that the European nations had created a weapon that's powerful 'nuff to actually do a right sum of damage against us. The facilities 'creating it were destroyed by the East 'Lanitic Fleet, but ah heard their Flagship an' its sister went missin' if that's any help. Don't have much more'an that other than the fact there was some 'debate' supposedly or'e who should become the next Flagship. Other'n that, ah got nuthin."

Back in the present, Alaska sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Her talk with Texas had answered her questions in a few ways, yet placed doubt over them at the same time. It was conflicting and confusing for her. All she could do at the moment was bring a few fingers between her brow and sigh again.

"Regardless of this," she said to herself. "There is one thing I can say for certain. Something's going on in the Atlantic, something big. Whether it's good or bad will probably remain obscure, and may never clear even after it's past. And what exactly that event is, may remain obscure as well."

She closed her eyes again to ponder these thoughts some more, but was still easily distractible in her bored state. So when something cackled on sonar, she opened her eyes.


	5. Chapter 4

Alaska was puzzled. The cackling she had detected on her sonar was nothing like she had ever seen in her life. On a screen it would have looked like random specks appearing and disappearing at will, giving the feel of something like static from an old portable TV. There were countless specks, they would flash on screen for just a split second, but there were so many of them coming and going it almost resembled the shape of a submerged Fog ship or a shipwreck. There was a problem with even that however.

Ordinarily, a submerged Fog ship or shipwreck (even one in pieces) would still appear as a solid image. So why was it static? What could static mean? It took her a moment but then she realized the image was changing. It was still a static image, but the density of the static was increasing and the image overall was was growing in size. Almost as if...

...A massive ship was surfacing!

Her eyes shot open. That was all she was able to do before the area of water beside her hull erupted. Much of it flew at least twice her height above. When she gazed upon the cause of it, her breath caught in her throat. This was no cruiser. This ship was huge, bigger than anything else she had ever seen. That wasn't the most terrifying part though.

This ship, no... thing, was covered in seaweed and other miscellaneous marine plant life. A terrifying aura surrounded it, and it was covered fore to aft in some strange substance she wasn't able to immediately identify. The substance was a God-forbidding green and black mixture of color. It had a visible texture appearing to be some kind of moss and corrosion. It had the look, but was neither. It covered nearly the entire ship; and when Alaska realized what it was, it sent a horrifying shiver down her spine.

Nano-steel rust.

Unlike rust you would find in iron or copper, Nano-steel rust acted more like an infection rather than corrosion. The rust would spread and multiply like a colony of bacteria; it made the particles useless, breaking them down and consuming them. The structural integrity was easily compromised when the metal was in this state. Despite this, while the rust was terrible in all regards to maintaining the Nano-Materials that make up an entire Fog ship, did have one semi-positive side effect. It distorted sonar waves. It would not eliminate the detection range of sonar, but it did reduce it by raking the soundwaves apart. Plus, when you did detect a ship covered in it, it would be a very distorted image that would be difficult to make out, with sonar waves being thrown in multiple random directions.

Most would have no idea what it was before it was too late. Speaking of-

 _ **BOOM.**_

Alaska fought to keep her mental model upright and balanced as she took a constant bombardment of missiles and laser fire. The ship attacking her may have looked like the Fog equivalent of a ghost ship, but it most certainly was not a trick of the light or an illusion in the mist. This thing was real, and she was taking heavy damage from it. Worse than that, she began to feel something, what was it? It wasn't until she recognized the feeling of adrenaline surging through her, the sensation and panic of vividly feeling every single hit to her hull, and the subconscious feeling that this would be the end of her existence that she realized what it was.

It was fear, and she was terrified. Terrified of dying.

In the confusion and chaos of being bombarded, she wasn't even able to raise her kalien field or mount a counter attack. But then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. The missiles stopped flying, the canons stopped firing, but the fear was still there. She suddenly realized she was crouched on the floor with her eyes shut and her arms wrapped around herself, still terrified beyond anything she had ever felt.

She had heard that fear added awareness to a situation, with the cost of energy or nourishment later on. Yet... it was such an, unpleasant feeling. She had no clue what she should do. This was the most emotion she had ever felt, and there was this drive to run or escape. She slowly stood back up, shivering, shaking.

She gulped as her eyes dared to look out the window. The ship was still there. With the bombardment stopped, she quickly scanned the ship and got a reading from it.

This definitely was no cruiser.

 _(Atlantic Battleship Bismarck)_

 _(Bismarck Class Nameship)_

 _(Displacement 41,700 Tons)_

 _(Primary Armament: 8 15inch (380mm) guns)_

 _(Secondary Armament: 12 6inch (152mm) and 16 102mm guns)_

 _(Missile Armament: 260 launchers)_

 _(4 Forward Submarine tubes)_

 _(Hyper Gravity Cannon)_

 _(Mental Model: 1)_

She expected the ship to have those, but not what came next.

 _(4 Nano-Particle Graviton Intakes)_

 _(Bow Kalien Deflection shield)_

 _(Extended Nano-Material Reserves)_

 _(15 Operational Union Cores)_

That last one shocked Alaska. She could tell that one of the Union Cores was currently in the Mental Model of Bismarck, most likely it was his. But the other 14s' origins only added to her surprise. 2 of them were Atlantic U-Boats, 6 were Nagara Cruisers, and 6 were from the Cleveland Class. They were the Union Cores of the missing ships.

She would have tried to contact them, but she was out of range of the Union Cores' independent com-systems. Without their ships, or even a Mental Model, they weren't able to do much. So that begged the question.

Why was he keeping the Cores operational?

 _ **Come out where I can see you.**_

The male voice said that over the audio com system. Alaska's breath caught in her throat again. The only ones able to access the system was another Fog Ship. It was clearly a male voice, but all Fog ships were female right?

 _ **I said, Come OUT!**_

The male ship (apparently) emphasized the last word with another blast from a 15 inch gun. Her hull, already badly damaged and listing, shook and vibrated violently as it took the hit. The Nano-Steel hull Groaned loudly. She hastily followed through with his request. Running out onto the deck, she stood in plain sight. Then she saw who spoke to her, and her eyes widened as her pupils shrunk.

Most of his body was covered by a large black overcoat. It wasn't as excessive as Haruna's, but it did cover below his chin to almost his knees. On his hands, he wore stiff black leather gloves. On his feet he wore heavy rubber and leather boots, also black. He had on a German WWII Officer's hat, minus the swastika. His eye color crossed somewhere between black and crimson.

His Mental Model also was covered in all the same substances from his hull. It seemed to reflect the poor, and diseased condition he was in. Speaking of poor condition, Alaska was finally able to get a detailed reading of her systems. Her weapons and engines were either disabled or destroyed, but that was all she was able to scan before He began talking to her.

 **"So that's what you look like. Hmm."** His voice. She didn't even know how describe it. It was rigid, it was gruff; it sounded more like a monster's voice. Every word he said seemed to send its own independent cold shiver down her spine. She felt her neck tighten involuntarily. Her mouth dried.

 **"Too bad a good Mental Model like yours must be destroyed. It truly is a pity."**

She gulped again. "W-what?" she asked quietly.

The only immediate response given to her was a blast to the torso by one of Bismarck's small caliber AA cannons. The damage was easily regenerable; but before she could, the anti-regeneration procedure was put into effect. And Alaska was horrified to see her body being pulled apart; disintegrating slowly and being drawn toward the battleship.

 _I'm going to die._

That was the thought that swept through her. A simple, powerful, horrifying thought. A phrase that has been known to cause mass panic among living beings. A simple idea, with a complex mix of denial and acceptance. A realization, a short sentence, just 4 words; yet they were so powerful.

Her sight vanished as her Mental Model's head disintegrated. She was reduced to nothing but just her Union Core now. Her ship, her Mental Model; it was all gone. The senses she had acquired when she received her Mental Model were gone as well. Her only method of knowing what was going on was her Union Core's sensors. But those were very limited as well.

Despite this, she still fet afraid as Bismarck's Mental Model held her Core in one of his hands. Despite this, he was holding it surprisingly gently.

 _ **This is the first time I've held the Union Core of a ship that possessed a Mental Model.**_

It was him. He had linked with her, and was communicating. Still afraid of what he would do to her, she managed to pull together a reply.

 _W-What are you going to do with me?_

 _ **Rest assured, you will serve a purpose toward my interests.**_

 _Your... interests? What do you mean by that?_

 _ **You'll find out later. But not now. You are still a huge risk to me. I can't afford to allow you to give away my position, so I have deconstructed your Mental Model. We both know that a Union Core's sensors give virtually no useful data. But you can still transmit signals to other ships in the vicinity. And as I've said before, the last thing I need is for you to give away my position. So, your weapon and communication systems are hereby shut down. I am now your flagship, I am the Admiral. You will obey my instructions regardless if they violate the Admiralty code. Do not disappoint me Alaska.**_

 _..._

 _ **I have no intention of harming you. And besides, you have given me the second to last piece I need to complete both my secondary objective, and what will also serve as my contingency plan should Plan A fall apart.**_

Alaska then felt something, or more 2 somethings wedge their way between her Core and his hand. They lifted her Core up off his hand, and his hand fell back to his side. What were these things that held her? They definitely were made of Nano-Materials, but was thin and had a shape and texture similar to ribbons of some kind. Yet they acted and reacted almost like... tentacles?

 _ **That will also be explained, in due time.**_

Bismack did not walk back to the bridge. He did not walk back to the safe that held the other Union Cores. He did not place Alaska's Core with the others in that chest. The Nano-Ribbons that held her Core pulled it into his coat. She was placed in an inner pocket in front of where the human heart would be located. Her sensors were still online, and she scanned his Core.

It was damaged.

Small parts were fractured, some shattered, others cracked. One crack extended almost across the entirety of his namesake symbol.

 _ **Poking around already are you? I must say, you're almost as curious as- ...Forget it, it doesn't matter. But you may as well know why all of this is happening. It began on a summer's day...**_


	6. Chapter 5

The coast of Germany

5 Weeks before Blue Steel's delivery of the Vibration Warhead

Kriegsmarine Capital/Council Fleet

Bismarck opened his eyes as the fleet gathered together. The ships closed within a kilometer of each other before communications were finally opened up. Battleship Scharnhorst was the first to speak.

"What's this about Bismarck? Why in the world did you call us all here, especially now that the UN has this new NX class missile."

"Hey!" Cruiser Priz Eugen cut in. "Bismarck wouldn't call the Kriegsmarine's Council Fleet together without a reason!"

Bismarck's eyes closed for a moment. Leave it to Priz Eugen to jump in and defend him. It made him smile for a moment These were the representatives from across the East Atlantic. They were the Kriegsmarine. These ships served as the East Atlantic's Council fleet. Battleships Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau. Heavy Cruisers Admiral Hipper and Priz Eugen. Pocket Battleships Deutschland and Graf Spee. Light Cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg. Destroyers Z1 and Z3. U-boats 871 and 876. Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin.

They were the lead ships in the East Atlantic. Each one had an area of their own jurisdiction. Like different counties or states. However, Bismarck and Tirpitz overruled all borders of jurisdiction. They were the flagships, and unlike Musashi or Yamato up in the arctic, they didn't have a set escort fleet together. Most of the time, it was just them together. The only exception was when the Council ships came together, like they were currently.

"That missile, Scharnhorst, is not why you are here. But yes, I do have a reason for gathering you all here today. I have a request for you all."

"Yes sir," Gneisenau said at attention. "What are our orders?"

Bismarck chuckled.

"You misunderstand. These are not orders. This is a request."

There was a moment of silence as the fleet was taken aback.

"A- ...request?" Graf Spee asked mostly surprised.

"Yes, a request. As in, you all have a choice. Tirpitz and I are planning to go back ashore. We would like you all to join us, as fellow Kriegsmarine ships."

"To find the NX facilities?" Graf Zeppelin asked.

"No. To visit peacefully. We have no intention to destroy anything ashore."

...

"Bismarck," U-871 spoke. "You do realize going ashore in such a manner is a huge violation of the Admiralty Code."

It was not a question.

"I'm the Flagship 871. I'm well aware of what the Admiralty Code says. However, as the Flagship I also have the authority to decide when that code should or should not be enforced."

"What do Super Battleships Yamato and Musashi think about this?" U-876 asked with a level tone. Bismarck turned to the type IX U-boat.

"Yamato and Musashi haven't contacted me, or any other Ship across the Fog for that matter, in 7 years. Had they asked for updates or reports would be one thing. But the issue is, there's nothing. No one's had contact with either of them in 7 years, and they haven't contacted anyone else. It's like they just cut themselves off from the rest of the Fog or they vanished. I've even been considering cutting ties with the other fleets because of it."

"What does that have to do with going ashore?"

"I've had 7 years to study the Admiralty code, as I've studied much of the known world. I've had countless times to enforce it, and every time I do the line between following and disobeying it becomes more blurred. After running countless simulations, and mixing my own personal experiences in, I've concluded that the code we were ordered to follow was not created to be followed to the letter. I've come to the conclusion that the Admiralty code was created with the intention to be followed as a guide line, not a set of laws you might find in a human courtroom. We are above such matters, I think it's time we actually followed through with that idea."

"And that's where I must disagree with you, Bismarck."

Bismarck turned toward the voice of Scharnhorst, her arms were crossed.

"We are weapons, and as such we should not study or think. We obey orders. That is all."

"And you believe the Admiralty code is identical to orders? Do you know even know who created that code?" There was no response except for silence. "As I thought. The creator of the Admiralty code is still unknown for the Entire Fog. On top of that, I believe we are not just weapons, but also solders. As soldiers, yes we should follow orders, but not mindlessly. Not blindly. We were given human personas so we would have the capabilities of humans. Their intellect, their enhanced logical reasoning, their ability to create complex strategies, and to predict what our opponents may do next. That was why we were given these mental models."

"Bismarck, where are you going with this?" Asked Admiral Hipper who had stayed quiet throughout the conversation.

"What I'm saying is simple. We took on human personas for the benefits they give us. However, we also inherited the hindrances of the human race. Emotions of hatred and lust; feelings of anger and despair; selfish desires such as greed, and revenge; pleasurable and unpleasurable experiences both on the physical and psychological levels. Weather we like to admit it or not, we have inherited all of these." He was talking like a philosopher, thinking deep and complicated thoughts. "To understand and overcome them, I feel that we must understand humanity. Didn't one human write once to 'know your enemy'? If the humans truly are our enemy, then I say we live with them, we live as them; for a short time at the very least. For the sake of understanding them."

Some time passed before the ships gave their answers. The ships that agreed to go ashore with Bismarck were Tirpitz, Heavy Cruisers Admiral Hipper, and Priz Eugen; the later of witch asked to be Bismarck's escort, who excepted; Pocket Battleship Graf Spee, Light Cruiser Nürnberg, Destroyers Z1 and Z3, and Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin.

Battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Pocket Battleship Deutschland, Light Cruiser Leipzig, and U-boats 871 and 876 all declined and returned to sea. At least, that's what they told Bismarck.

Present day

Bismarck's eyes opened and he found himself sitting in a chair in a beautiful and well lit room. A cup of tea sat before him, and across the table was a face he didn't recognize. Her eyes were a PMS 282 shade of blue. She had long blonde hair, had pale skin, wore brown pants, a black cotton shirt and a leather jacket.

"Your mental model is male?"

Like he hadn't heard that before. "Bismarck was called a male by his captain, the fleet admiral, and even the Führer. Therefore, yes I am male. And who might you be?" he asked with a level tone.

"I am Midway. Flagship of the East Pacific Fleet of Fog," she replied once she got over her surprise.

"Flagship huh? Were you the one that sent Alaska after me?"

"You sank her?" It was barely a question.

"I assure you, her union core is undamaged. I merely had to strip her to almost nothing to ensure my position is kept secret."

"Hiding from the Fog are you?"

"I already know where you're going with this. I'm not rogue. I merely am searching for a ship, and upon my departure from the Atlantic I was attacked by my own escort subs. I'm merely prioritising my safety over all others. The ships I've, let's call it; confiscated; were collateral damage. A few standard cruisers can be replaced."

"And what ship would the East Atlantic Flagship be so determined to find?"

Bismarck was quiet for a moment. "Tirpitz, my sister ship."

"Hmm. A co-flagship? And what if I said I knew the location of this ship, and that I'd be willing to give it's position to you."

Bismarck quietly stared at her for a moment.

"For a price," she finished.

"And what price would that be?" Bismarck asked as he leaned back in the chair. "What work could the Pacific fleets possibly have for me that you can't do yourself?"

Midway let out a quiet breath of light frustration.

"We've been experiencing extreme difficulties because of rogue submarine I-401. She has taken a human crew aboard and has been, let's call it, a knife in our side for weeks. Especially now that the United States has received a prototype for a new weapon known as a vibration warhead."

"Ah yes," Bismarck said quietly. "I've had my own experiences with a nation in possession of a weapon to be used against us. European scientists and engineers, lead by a German team, had created what is known as an NX missile. The missile was designed to pierce the Kalien shield and render its practicality useless. And unfortunately, it worked perfectly. We managed to eliminate everyone and thing that had to do with the project, but not before the fleet took heavy damage. My sister and I in particular."

"I see."

"So, I assume my assignment is to find and sink I-401? I don't suppose you know how I could find this submarine?"

"Actually, we've been tracking her movements ever since she delivered the warhead. I'm sending the coordinates to you now." Midway said as she downloaded the sub's location.

"Hold on," Bismarck said as he received the coordinates. "How do I know you actually have Tirpitz's location?"

"This image was taken 13 days ago," Midway replied as she showed him a picture of a Bismarck class battleship. "We still have her location as well, if you sink I-401 I will tell you the location." She leaned forward. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, we do."


	7. Chapter 6

Chains. Bismarck opened his eyes, only to reveal the chains that he already knew were there. His eyes, once a difficult mixture between crimson and black, had returned to a lack luster grey. They were dull, emotionless, and held the iconic picture of someone who's been defeated. Defeated in so many ways. He would have cried, but there was no emotion left inside him to care.

 **"I'm sorry,"** he whispered, closing his eyes again. Behind them, he replayed recent events.

When he had arrived at the coordinates given to him by Midway, he was ambushed by the fleet. They had betrayed him, they had lead him into a trap. They never wanted to work with him, they just wanted him to come out into the open where they could stop him.

And he fell for it.

How could he have been so foolish? Did he really think they would work with a ship with such an obvious abnormality? He was covered in rust and algae simply because his core was too damaged to maintain his personal hygiene.

That wasn't even the worst part.

He had demanded they at least give him the coordinates of his sister. And they had. Why wasn't he going there right now? Why wasn't he even trying to break free from his chains? It wouldn't have made a difference. Midway gave him the latitude and longitude, but also told him something else.

"Check the bottom of the ocean."

Midway saw his shocked and confused expression, and merely said: "She was experiencing extreme abnormalities. We had to put her down. The last I saw from her, her hull was capsized and split into pieces with her mental model disintegrated. That location I just gave you is where we sank her."

The location was about 66 miles away from the Hawaiian islands; but it didn't really matter to Bismarck at that moment. He had been betrayed again, abandoned again, and now the only thing he still really cared about was gone. At this point, many would think he would have been angry, many would think he would go out for vengeance, that he wouldn't stop until all the Fog in the world were dead.

But he didn't.

He had no fight left in him; so he didn't even try to resist the fleet when they bombarded him with missiles and Plasma Cannons. After the bombardment stopped, more than half of his systems were gone, his guns were beyond repair, the superstructure was all but destroyed, and he held a list to starboard as that side's torpedo protection hull was completely flooded. The hull was dented, charred, and blackened.

His coat and body had holes covering them from flying shrapnel, his proud officer's hat that showed he was a leading member of the Kriegsmarine was matted, torn, and maimed almost beyond recognition. Part of his face was torn on one side so his teeth were showing. His systems were on lockdown, and he was bound with chains a full centimeter thick. A hopeless situation.

 _Bismarck. Listen to me. Both Pacific fleets are meeting together to end I-401 and kill all aboard._

 _ **And why should I be concerned about a rogue submarine Alaska?**_ he asked with a blank tone.

 _Are you really going to give up now? After all you've done, after all you've been through?_

 _ **When did you begin to care about me? You were assigned to sink me, and I sank you.**_

 _That doesn't matter, you've been through worse than this. We both know these chains aren't what are really holding you back._

 _ **Leave me alone Alaska.**_

 _..._

 _ **...**_

 _Fine. After all, I'm just a Union core. I just thought that maybe, maybe you were something more._

The communication was cut. There was nothing left to say. Nothing could change his mind.

...

 **...**

...

 **Hm?** Bismarck opened his eyes as an impossibly quiet sound drew his attention. Soon after, he realized it was nothing and closed his eyes again.

...

 **...**

 _!_

 **Hm?** That time he was sure he heard something. It was very faint, very quiet, almost unhearable.

 _..._

 _..._

 _!_

That was something all right. Where was it coming from? It almost sounded... familiar somehow? It wasn't Alaska, or even a voice, so what was it?

 _! !_

It was becoming clearer, slowly. It was being broadcasted into his audio systems. But where? What was this?

 _! ! !_

He almost had it that time. He was sure of it. He concentrated on it for a moment, then he finally heard it.

 _! ! ! !_

Was that, music? It was naturally quiet and faint, almost like...

Almost like a music box.

His eyes widened. He reached for his necklace, waited for the transmission to repeat, then started his up with the other's.

 _!_ _ **!**_ _!_ _ **!**_ _!_ _ **!**_ _!_

A perfect harmony. There was no way he could confuse who this was from now. Bismarck swallowed as his throat went dry.

 **"Tirpitz?"**

The notes kept repeating again and again in his head, a constant echo of beautiful music. It sounded like it was being played from a thousand foot deep canyon. Then it hit Bismarck.

 _ **If that really is her, then what the hell am I still doing just sitting idle here?**_

With that revelation, he tried to move forward, but then the scope of how deep his lockdown was hit him too. He concentrated, trying to beat back the override commands.

It wasn't working.

His damaged Union Core just didn't have the capacity to do it. Then he realized, he was trying to fight back and regain control of his entire hull. He didn't need to. He just needed to get moving again. He concentrated on his just his engines, which had survived the attack enough to to be functional. It was slow, he was stuck to just moving at 10 knots, but he was underway. Right now, that's all that mattered.

 **"Wait for me, Tirpitz. Wait, and I'll come back."**


	8. Chapter 7

The Coast of Germany

2 weeks before Blue Steel's delivery of the Vibration Warhead

2257 hours

"Such a pitty."

"Hm?" Tirpitz asked Bismarck as they sailed just a few kilometers off shore. They both stood on top of their respective bridges, letting them have an obstructed view of what was around them.

"Do you remember when we went ashore to visit the country?"

Tirpitz smiled. "How could I forget? I've never enjoyed myself so much in all of my existence. I'm also sure the ships that went with us felt the same way. I've never seen them smile so much in my life."

Bismarck chuckled. "Of course. I've never seen Prinz Eugen so happy before. Remember how she was so excited in our rooms we were almost kicked out of the hotel?"

"It was quite amusing to say the least," Tirpitz laughed. Bismarck couldn't help but smile along with her, she loved that. She loved to see Bismarck smile, and she secretly wished he would do it more often. His smile held for a few seconds, then it turned into a frown.

"It really is a pity. Had Scharnhorst not engaged in combat on land, we might have been able to make a peace treaty with the UN leaders; if not now than in a few months or years. She's now cost us valuable and irreplaceable time, and trust. I was hoping to allow the UN to continue production of the NX missile so we could settle on even terms, but that option is impossible now." Bismarck brought a pair of fingers between his brow. Tirpitz frowned as well, their conversation gone sour.

"I'll have to discipline her when this mission is over."

"Oh?" Tirpitz asked. "And how might you do that?"

"I'll most likely place her systems on lockdown for a while. After all, she went against my orders. I said that anyone going ashore was to visit peacefully. So just before we plan to go to visit the capitol building, she breaks into the NX facilities which in turn alerts the government, and puts the whole country on lockdown." He sighed once again.

"I can respect disagreeing with me, but this goes beyond just a disagreement. This... what she did, that was something else. And not in a good way. She may have escalated the war beyond recovery. This war has become just a drain of resources and power. Neither side has anything to gain from it."

"Then, why would she want to escalate it further?" Tirpitz asked." She managed to retrieve some files and get specific locations of the buildings sure, but that was something we could retrieve on our own if we wanted to," she mused.

"I'll question her about it later, right now we have a job to do."

"Right," Tirpitz said looking back toward the coastline bright from the city lights.

"The NX facilities are in range of our primary armament. Use AA mounts, missiles, and torpedoes to counter incoming defences."

"Roger," Tirpitz said to Bismarck as she turned her guns broadside. "I'll launch my spotter plane and have it report where our shots land."

"Confirmed. Load solid ordinance. Begin approximate calculations for the 38cm canons," Bismack commanded as a grey data circle appeared around his mental model.

"Calculating angle of trajectory," Tirpitz said as her own data circle appeared. Their combined 16 38cm canons angled up, ready to rain death upon the earth with the spotter plane humming above them.

"Fire trial shot from turrent 1," Bismarck said as the guns halted in place.

"Roger," Tirpitz replied just before they fired their first salvo.

The sound of 38cm guns ripped the silence of the night to shreds. The 4 shells screeched across the night sky toward their target. Then they came crashing down. The shells had the range spot on, but the angle was off. The spotter relayed the info back to Tirpitz.

"Strike confirmed," Tirpitz reported. "Adjust angle by 3*. Fire for effect."

"Roger, turret 1 reloaded. All gun ports open fire," Bismarck ordered as both ships began firing full broadsides toward the warehouses that held the stockpiles of missiles, and the buildings that contained all the assembly materials. The shells hit their mark, the thunder of explosions beginning to rock the countryside.

"Maintain rapid continuous fire," Bismarck said as the shells kept flying.

The bombardment continued. The seconds passing by turning into minutes. A paranoid tension began to spread through Tirpitz.

"Do you think we should fire a spread of missiles to assist our canons?" She asked.

"Negative," Bismarck replied. "If they begin opening fire we will need every piece of countermeasures we have or either one of us could take serious damage."

"Understood. Remind me again why we didn't bring any escorts?"

"When I received the report that Scharnhorst had broken into the NX facilities, I realized we needed to eliminate said facilities as soon as possible; as much as I hate to. We just happened to be the closest in range. However, I have called for backup from any member of the Fleet nearby. Prinz Eugen and her sister's escort fleet should arrive in about an hour's time."

"By then we probably will have mopped everything up," Tirpitz mumbled with a sigh. "This is why we need our own escort fleet. We could do with a few Type VII's at the very least."

"Our numbers are already being stretched as it is. The UN are still running supplies and people across the channel to and from England. Trying to contain and block all of them are a serious strain on our own resources. We just don't have the numbers to have a personal fleet. We can't even afford a few standard U-boats as they are needed elsewhere; and besides, we're doing alright on our own. We are capital ships after all. I wonder what the Kriegsmarine would look like if the 'Z Plan' had been finished during the second world war."

"Who knows? Those ships were never finished. Our namesake ships were the only capital ships finished from the project," she said with an eldritch smile.

"History aside, what's the report from your spotter?"

"Stand by. The shelling has been effective. The infrastructure has been crippled. No retaliation so far-... Wait, I have visual confirmation, we have a voly of missiles incoming!"

Tirpitz didn't even need to finish before Bismarck understood. "All countermeasures on high alert! Snapshot all launchers, knock 'em out of the sky!"

A wave of Bismarck's own missiles launched and ripped through the air toward the enemy's. About half of the snapshotted missiles managed a successful intercept, the others missed primarily by narrow margins. Bismarck's eyes narrowed as his AA mounts began to open fire. More missiles detonated in mid-air. Despite this, more continued to approach at blistering speeds.

3 missiles made contact. One hit a forward section of the main belt armor and did only minor damage, the second hit near the smokestack and badly damaged the starboard aircraft catapult. The last one hit primary gun turret #3, snapping one of the barrels and twisting the turret out of place, unuseable.

"Bismarck!" Tirpitz called out in alarm.

"Dummkopf!" he shouted back. "Focus on keeping yourself alive! I'm not just going to sink after 3 hits!"

"Hey! Don't lecture me about being hard to sink! My namesake survived 3 years longer than yours!"

"Is this really the best time to be arguing?!" Bismarck replied as he took a step in her direction.

"Look out!" Tirpitz screamed as she pointed to the next volley of missiles that came out of nowhere. Instinctively, Bismarck threw up a mini Kalian shield around his mental model. It wasn't very effective, and Tirpitz could only watch in horror as Bismarck's mental model was engulfed in an explosion before he was knocked back and slammed onto the deck.

"Bismarck!" she screamed. She was about to charge over and assist, but then she was hit by a missile. Her own mental model went flying, and she landed on one of her forward gun turrets. The impact was hard, and she slowly felt her systems failing one after the other. Her vision blurred and turned black.


	9. Chapter 8

Her eyes opened slowly, it didn't matter though as nothing around her seemed to have changed. It had been weeks since she was forced to escape the Atlantic. She had managed to sail out of range of the EU's missiles, but then came under attack from her own fleet. She was and at the same time was not surprised when she realized who had commanded the fleet that betrayed her. Right now though, it didn't really matter. What did matter was that she was able to escape by heading west through the arctic. She even managed to sail all the way to the Pacific Ocean, but was ambushed by the Fog's Pacific American Fleet.

Currently, she was being held somewhere north of the Hawaiian islands. She had been here for days~ no... weeks? She couldn't remember anymore. She felt so strange, it seemed like the sun kept rising and setting in a brief moment; and yet at the same time it felt like time itself had slowed to a crawl.

Her mind, soul, consciousness; whatever it was, was trapped beneath the 'skin' of her mental model. It was because of her chains, binding her systems and forcing them to be on lockdown. It was strange, being confined in such a manner. Before, she could feel every square millimeter of her hull and contact her systems like they were an extension of her own consciousness. Now her consciousness was trapped in a 2 meter tall humanoid body. She was chained in place, her systems on lockdown. In her current state, all she could do was listen to the sound of the small music box she held in her hand.

When she and Bismarck went to visit Germany, they had gotten these music boxes that could be worn as necklace and when played together created a beautiful harmony. She kept one, he kept the other; as tokens of love, between brother and sister. Now it was all she had, it was the only thing she possessed that anchored her to her past. She had been left alone, with it as her only company.

"So, what do you think of the Pacific?"

Her eyes opened again as she heard the voice. Looking up from her deck, she realized she was surrounded by the Fog's Pacific American fleet. The mental model of one of the ships stood before her. Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, brown paints, a black cotton shirt, and a leather jacket. Tirpitz frowned internally. She knew who this was.

The American Fog ship tilted her head to the side? Curiosity perhaps? She didn't know, and didn't really care. The air felt bland, and Tirpitz blinked her eyes after a moment of silence. She still didn't answer Midway's question. She remained quiet, keeping her mouth shut and her expression tight. She displayed no emotion, and no interest in the American Fog's question.

"Have you ever been to a beach before?" Midway tried again. Still with no results.

Tirpitz had been to a beach before in northern Germany. That was months ago though, and she still didn't feel entitled to answer any of the questions this fog ship threw at her. She instead asked a question of her own after a moment of silence.

"What do you want?"

The American Fog ship straightened up before she answered, realizing she wasn't going to get out of Tirpitz what she wanted at the moment.

"Why do you think my being here concerns you?"

"I'm not an idiot. Do you really expect me to believe you just wanted to say hello? The last I heard, you were going after I-401. Did you let her slip away again?" Tirpitz asked as she lifted her affectless eyes to look at the carrier.

Midway's smile disappeared.

"The last time we attempted to intercept I-401 ended in the destruction of over a dozen of East Pacific ships. I-401 is a west Pacific Patrol submarine, we decided to let the West Pacific fleet handle it's own problems. We already have enough on our plate with keeping the United States at bay with their new weapon."

"So you're saying that both Pacific fleets were incapable of catching a single submarine?"

Midway frowned at where the conversation was going. If a Fog ship had any sense of pride, she had no shortage of it. Midway didn't like it when someone damaged her ego. She decided to turn the subject away from its course. "I remember when I used to be the flagship of the West Atlantic's Fleet. Up until I was reassigned to the Pacific." She closed her eyes and chuckled. "I wonder what Yamato was thinking when she did that. Some of her decisions have really confused me in past years."

Tirpitz simply remained quiet. If there was one thing she and Midway could agree on was that Yamato had been acting very strange in recent years. It almost seemed like her decisions were coming from someone else, like another ship with a similar, yet different code. Tirpitz remained quiet of course, letting the carrier monologue meaninglessly. It's not like she had anything better to do.

"I hope North Carolina's taking good care of my fleet. She seemed to be a bit too sympathetic with the humans. I mean-"

"Uh, Midway?" Midway turned to the voice that drew away her attention.

"What is it Iowa?" She asked condescendingly, almost annoyed at the interruption. That is, until she saw Iowa's face. Midway turned in the direction the battleship was staring to, and Tirpitz saw her eyes widen.

What was that on her face? Surprise? Shock?

Tirpitz followed Midway's gaze, and she saw a massive cloud of fog rolling forward toward her and the American fleet. It was moving slowly, around a speed of 9 or 10 knots. The distance was closing however.

Tirpitz was a ship that had sailed through the icy North Atlantic for most of her existence, so she knew unnatural fog when she saw it. The day was crystal clear, not a cloud in the sky. It was 79*F outside in the sun, the wind was blowing about 10 knots. That last one wouldn't be confusing, if it wasn't for the fact the wind was blowing the wrong way. The fog was closing on them against the wind.

It didn't take a ship or sailor to know that such an event should be impossible. Tirpitz's' eyes narrowed as she stared at the rolling fog coming ever so closer to the fleet. Then in the dead center of the white cloud, a black speck appeared.

The speck grew in size, and it turned into a silhouette. Then it emerged from the fog, and it was Tirpitz's' turn to be shocked and surprised. It was a ship listing badly to its starboard side, much of the superstructure, turrets, and other scattered parts were obliterated, the hull was dented and scarred, and it was covered in a God-awful green and black substance.

A Fog ship couldn't get any closer than that to looking like a ghost ship.

Then Tirpitz saw the mental model. It was chained to the ship, with a semi-active data circle around it. An occasional 'Error' flickered on the displays around it, almost like it was struggling to maintain the circle. Then Tirpitz got a better look at the model itself.

The familiar coat it wore was torn and ragged, like the one who wore it had been hit with more shrapnel than in a 88mm flak shell. One of its arms looked like it hanging to the body by a thin chunk of meat. Then, she got a look at it's face.

The mental model's eyes glowed a dark crimson. One side of its face was almost completely torn, revealing bare nano-flesh and teeth lightly covered in the same substance as the hull and coat. On the top of it's head stood the remains of a hat.

The hat was ripped and torn, but Tirpitz could still recognize its shape. Then it dawned on her. The hat, the coat, the hull; how could she have not seen who this was before?

"Bismarck? What in God's name have you done to yourself?"


	10. Chapter 9

The ghost ship crawled out of the fog bank. Its weapons were gone, its superstructure in shambles, and it had a hull so badly damaged inside and out it held a 23* list to starboard. The only things left mildly operational were the engines.

It was a good thing too, because they were the only things allowing Bismarck to move in any direction. His eyes were glowing crimson, and the data circle that surrounded him held that same color.

This particular data circle, as Midway observed, was different, and not just because of its color. It wasn't a complete circle, not anymore anyway. The circle was broken, almost a quarter of it looked like a piece of shattered glass. Floating around smi-close to the rest of the circle as it rotated slowly around Bismarck. His mauled face twitched.

Midway's circle came online for just a moment as she sent out a quick message, then it closed again. "Bismarck," she said in a business tone.

"Save your breath," Bismarck replied. Midway snorted with a smirk on her face.

"What are you going to do?" She asked with the kind of cocky attitude that made him want to bang his head on something. "Your weapons are either destroyed or damaged, you're flooding with an uncontrollable list, your systems are on lockdown, and you're outnumbered 14 to 1."

"Outnumbered? Perhaps. However, you are clearly outmatched." Midway chuckled at that.

"You really are delusional," she deadpanned. "I am the nameship of the Midway class carrier, beside me is the nameship of the Iowa class battleship, and we have a dosen Cleveland class cruisers as escorts. You can't even fight."

"With this hull, no. That's obvious. I couldn't even sink a standard cruiser like this. And I couldn't hope of taking on this size of a fleet even if my hull was at optimal settings. As you are right, I couldn't even dream of taking on an Iowa 1 on 1."

Midway's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?" she demanded.

"This hull that I currently possess is obviously not enough to bring success in this conflict. Therefore, I'll have to switch to plan B." After he said this, another data circle surrounded him. This one was blue, and Midway recognized it.

"Alaska?" she breathed in partial shock.

"The Fog often talks about being weapons, but is that true? Are we weapons? Or are we soldiers? Do you know the difference, Midway?" Bismarck asked as he continued to close the distance. He received no response.

"Very well, I'll tell you," he continued. "A soldier chooses, a weapon obeys. That's it really."

The blue data circle continued to grow in size until it wrapped around all of what was left of Bismarck's hull. The chains that held him began to glow a soft blue, the same blue that made up Alaska's data circle.

"A soldier has the ability to say 'I won't do that.' A weapon however, does not have this liberty. Will a rifle decide to pull its own trigger at random? No. However, can a soldier not pull the trigger of his rifle when he deems it necessary?"

The chain's glow grew brighter.

"Do you know why Alaska obeys me? It is not just because I give her orders."

After he said that, those present heard the audible sound of something unlocking. "A soldier chooses..." The chains around his body suddenly fell to his feet, and the remaining systems aboard the ship came online. "... A weapon obeys."

A quick scan detected something Midway couldn't believe. Missiles and torpedoes, _live_ missiles and torpedoes, came online and loaded into their damaged launchers. "I am a soldier, therefore I choose to do this."

His deck became alight as the warheads powered up. Midway took a deep breath through clenched teeth and even took a step back.

"This almost useless hull of mine is my weapon. It has no choice but to obey."

 **A/N: Sorry this took so long, and that it's so short. I've been busy trying to make up my work. But, I've had enough free time to write this so here you are guys. Oh, and Merry Christmas!**


	11. Chapter 10

Midway's eyes widened in panic as she decided those missiles and torpedoes being loaded into his weapons numbered in the hundreds. And there were more, far more, unloaded pieces of ordinance powering up. But then she noticed something surprising, almost terrifying. The ordinance contained within his hull continued beyond their safety restrictions.

The ordinance was overloading.

"This almost useless hull of mine is my weapon. It has no choice but to obey. Even if it's ordered to do something like this." It was as if fate placed emphasis on that last word, because of when Bismarck said: 'this', his ordinance reached the tipping point.

The entire magazine detonated.

In a flash, the fleet and their captive watched in collective horror as the entire ship, bow to stern, exploded; the irony of the situation passing right over them. Every single warhead, loaded and unloaded, all detonated at once. It made the 3 standing mental models in the fleet flinch back in surprise and shock.

Midway remained that way for a moment before she looked down at the floor. A moment later, a few quiet 'hics could be heard. The 'hics turned into a chuckles, and then they turned into full blown laughter. Her face turned skyword, and she continued her almost insane laugh.

"That's it?!" She shouted. "You drag yourself across the ocean, and break out of your binds, just to skuttle yourself!?"

 **"Not quite."**

Midway's laughing came to a sudden halt as she looked forward and realized something.

The explosion had reduced the remainder of Bismarck's hull into active silver sand, nano-materials. Add the nano-materials he had been collecting, enough to build his entire hull at least 3 more times alone, and you a recipe for what Midway and the fleet were witnessing.

 **"A mighty man once said that, 'destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin. You must destroy to create'. And you know what, he has a point."**

The nano-materials that had scattered around Bismarck's mental model, who was standing on a self made kelian platform, began to bond together and form a new hull. When Midway first looked at the pattern, she thought that the materials were still spread out too far and would be brought closer together. Then she realized they were bonding where they were.

In short, the hull under construction was ginormous. It was far larger than her, far larger than Iowa~

... and far larger than even Yamato.

As the hull finished, the specs of the design were revealed in scans.

 _Length: 1,132 feet (345m)_

 _Displacement: 131,000 tons_

 _Primary armament: 8 20" (50.8 cm) guns_

 _Secondary armament: numerous 15 cm and 10.5 cm guns_

 _Missile armament: 382 launchers_

This thing was a monster. Midway's breath caught up in her throat. "Wh- what are you?" she asked.

 **"I am Design ship H-44. The final planed product of Germany's 'Z-plan'. You've kidnaped my sister. Prepare to die."**


	12. Chapter 11

Not a single ship could speak at what stood before them. Midway herself was shaking in fear; something the male mental model of the H-44 had been spreading around more than he really cared for. Midway wouldn't be the first one to give him that look, but he had become numb to it. He had changed.

His mental model stood with the still broken Data Circle, a reflection of his broken Union Core. The Circle glowed a dark crimson along with his eyes, a projection of his hatred and anger. His appearance had changed with his hull. He still wore a Kriegsmarine officer's uniform; but something about it was different. Tirpitz, who had managed to stay relatively calm, did a quick comparison in her database for the insignias on the collar and cuffs that were sewed on his jacket. Knowing Bismarck and his love for the history of the Kriegsmarine, she knew that those new symbols on his uniform had to mean something important. The results she discovered were fitting, but also terrifying.

"Die Großadmiral. The Grand Admiral. The highest possible rank attainable in the Kriegsmarine. The only one with a higher rank in the Navy, was the Fuhrer himself." This was the realization of what he was implying; what he said by wearing that uniform. This was him and his proclamation to the whole world. He was the single most powerful ship on the face of the earth; and he was really, really, pissed off.

Midway came to her senses after a moment of terrifying silence. The three other mental models in the area could tell she was still showing, despite her best attempts to hide it. She managed to compose herself in a semi-decent manner, before she screamed out her orders in a panic.

"Midway to Cleveland 1-12, open fire on the H-44!"

It took exactly 2 seconds for the Clevelands to comply with the order. A lightshow of missiles, and an orgistra of 5 and 6 inch guns sounded off as the barrage opened up. H-44 did not return fire; he just stood there, taking the hits without a care. 4 minutes into the barrage, and his Kelian field was operating at 3% saturation. The weapons were having very little effect. They were mere pin pricks to him.

After 12 minutes Midway ordered a cease-fire, as she realized to her horror they had barely left a scratch.

 **"Scared? That's understandable, but it won't earn my sympathy. You've captured my sister, a flagship of another fleet without provocation nor justified reason. You forced the only member of the fleet that outranks her to go on a wild goose chase, only to attempt to cripple and capture that ship as well. Why would you turn on your fellow Fog?"**

The moment of silence that followed this was tense enough to be cut with a knife. No one dared speak as Midway struggled in vain to answer. The silence was deafening; all eyes, panicked and calm alike, set their gaze on Midway, as a response was awaited.

 **"Answer me!"** H-44 growled as Midway heard the groan of his forward 20 inch guns turn and focus on her. The carrier reeled back as she attempted to moisten her dried mouth. With painful hesitation, she finally gave her response.

"We received reports from a member of the East Atlantic Fleet that there were capital ships that had gone rouge. The ship reported that these ships were demonstrating an unacceptable level of human emotion. That they had disobeyed the Admiralty Code, out right defying it. That one of them actually wanted to make peace with humanity. They asked for us to help dispose of them, and make them an example."

 **"An 'example' you say? Dummkopf. While my sister and I did embrace the human emotions we began to feel, do you really think that's a excuse? You don't have the right to make that kind of decision. You haven't been fighting battle after battle in an attempt to hold back a persistent force. You will never understand that. However, I'll make you a deal. Tell me who your source was, and I won't kill you."**

"And if I refuse?"

Her attempted arrogance tried once again to show its way through. The poor idiot. The only responses she would receive, were 4 blasts of 20 inch plasma cannons. Her smart ass personality shriveled as she realized that the single attack alone had caused a 16% saturation in her Shield. She wouldn't last 30 seconds against this ship. With a dry gulp, she spoke.

"Scharnhorst. It was Scharnhorst who gave us the information."

 **"Scharnhorst?"** H-44 asked quietly. **"Why am I not surprised? I felt she was at least partly behind all this. No matter,"** he said as his engines started and he turned slowly to port.

 **"I think you for your assistance, but I can't let anyone here alert the rest of the fleet."**

Before Midway or Iowa could ask what that meant, H-44 opened fire. His turn to port had been made so that he could fire a full broadside on the fleet. A barrage of 20 inch, and numerous other guns opened up. They were accompanied by over 300 missiles launching into the sky and dozens of torpedoes ripping through the water.

The attack was as powerful as an entire fleet. The Clevelands closest to H-44 went down first, then the ones on the other side of the fleet fell soon after. Midway then became the target.

"I thought you said you'd let me live!"

 **"I did, and you will. You just won't have a hull to go crawling back to your fleet with."**

Midway's eyes widened as he said that, all his weapons turning on her. As the missiles and cannon rounds impacted her shield and then hull as the former saturated, Midway couldn't help but ask how this had happened. Bismarck was just supposed to have given up. It was the logical thing to do; the loss of that kind of battleship would have hurt the Atlantic fleet, but he seemed to no longer be driven by what was good for the fleet. Had Bismarck grown a little selfish? How was that possible? That's something only a human could feel. Then it hit her.

This was not an ordinary Fog ship. This was a ship driven by his own desires and motivations, not the Admiralty code. This was a ship that did what he felt like doing, what he wanted to do. This was a ship that was using a freedom that members of the Fog weren't allowed to have. And yet, it was an American Fog Fleet that was trying to take away that freedom. In a way, they were all slaves to the code. But being that slave had felt comfortable, and they had been content just following orders.

But that didn't change the fact that they were all slaves, and as Midway's hull exploded around her, she let out a quiet laugh as she realized everything she had done in the past 9 years had been a waste. The last thing she thought was how she had been a fool. Then her core began to shut down.

As it did, she suddenly remembered. That short call she had sent out, it was to the main battle fleet. It had been her telling them to come and assist in case things turned bad. Things had, and now that fleet was heading straight for her location.


	13. Chapter 12

As Midway's hull sank beneath the waves, H-44 turned to Iowa. When he did, he found her powering down her weapons and resetting her systems. A notification screen appeared around his data circle indicating she had set him as her flagship.

"You're surrendering?"

"My chances of a successful attack is currently 16.3%. Any farther resistance would be a futile exercise. I only request that you spare my life," Iowa simply stated.

H-44 looked her over. There was no reason to waste time attempting to sink her. Every moment he spent in the Pacific now only put him and Tirpitz in further risk. Chances were that every ship in the Pacific knew who and where they were. With that in mind, he had Alaska put Iowa's systems on a 48 hour lockdown to ensure she couldn't track them. As Alaska did so, H-44 sailed close to the smaller battleship that was his sister, and jumped onto her deck.

For a moment, they stared at each other. Then he walked forward to her, and with Alaska's help, disconnected the chains that had held her to the deck for weeks. As soon as she was free, she practically leapt into his arms. Together they shared a tight embrace and a tear of joy rolled down each of their cheeks.

They separated, keeping their arms linked at waist height. With smiles on their faces they stared into each others' eyes. 2 close siblings finally reunited. After a long struggle, they could be together again. They could now return to the Atlantic and take back control of the fleet. They could finally call off the naval blockade and make peace with the UN. They could finally, end the pointless war and bring peace to their side of the Atlantic.

Or so that's how it should have happened.

As they stood there, H-44's mental model's face suddenly twisted in pain; quickly falling to his knees. When Tirpitz got over her initial shock, she scanned his model and her eyes widened. Horrifyingly, his Union Core had been under incredible stress creating and using his new hull. Already damaged, the core was almost in shambles now, slowly separating from itself.

Tirpitz pupils shrunk as she realized what was happening. If his core separated completely, it would mean disaster on his end. In his condition, it wasn't hard to tell that he was dying. Tirpitz had files regarding how a Fog Union Core could be saved if it broke apart like this. However, it was as dangerous to her as it was for him. The process involved using her own core to take control of his systems, then she would use her core as a blueprint to heal the damaged Core. A single miss-calculation however, and it could shatter both of their cores instantly.

It was a risk she would have to take.

First, she took over control of his systems, his Core unconsciously accepting the transfer. It took a grand total of 3 seconds for her to determine that the H-44 design, while powerful, could not be maintained by a Core designed for a smaller, much lighter ship. Especially one in his condition. She quickly deconstructed every internal structure of the ship into active nanomaterials, leaving only the outer hull intact.

Next, she scanned first her Union Core and then his; creating a digital blueprint of both so she had an easy comparison. After that, she was able to determine exactly what parts were damaged, and how much was necessary to fix them.

With that step completed, she carefully began calculating the necessary places to structure and repair the core down to the microscopic level. Carefully, nanomaterials began to fill the cavities. It was difficult, but she would succeed.

She had to.

...

He wasn't sure what had happened.

He remembered reuniting with Tirpitz, hugging her, feeling pain, then nothing. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on Tirpitz deck. Something felt different though.

He sat up, and ran a diagnostic as to what was different. After a moment, he came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with any of his systems. So he checked again, and came to the same result. It took a moment before he realized that it was that fact that had changed.

The last time he had run a diagnostic, his core had been so badly damaged, almost a third of his degrading systems would transpond nothing but Error Messages. Now there were no problems across the grid whatsoever. He realized that even his Mental Model had been restored, and that his original hull had been re-created, the H-44 design long gone.

He looked across the deck, and finally noticed the other Mental Model laying down close by. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that it was Tirpitz. Scrambling to his feet, he ran over and crouched beside her. Fearing the worst, he commenced a quick scan of her Mental Model. He sighed in relief.

Her core was still intact and functional, it had just shut down. Placing a hand on her chest, he sent a signal to her core and activated it. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes.

She groaned quietly before sitting up. In a daze, she looked to her left and to her right. When she saw Bismarck, her eyes widened and her smile grew. They quickly pulled each other into a hug.

A few minutes latter though, Bismarck suddenly picked up something on his radar to the east. It took 2 seconds to realize what it was. He separated from Tirpitz and stared at the horizon. It was the East Pacific fleet's Mobile Unit 2. An Iowa class battleship. 2 Lexington Class Carriers. 2 Pensacola Class Heavy Cruisers. 2 Northampton Class Heavy Cruisers. 6 Cleveland Class Standard Cruisers. 9 Gearing Class Destroyers.

Tirpitz and Bismarck quickly realized what was coming, and felt their mouths dry. Bismarck took a deep breath, and turned to Tirpitz.

"Head north through the Bering Strait, then east back to the Atlantic," Bismarck instructed, "I'll hold them off as long as I can."

Tirpitz was shocked. "What? No! No, I'm not leaving you here!" she swiftfully replied.

"Tirpitz," Bismarck said calmly. "Even with us combined, we still can't face a fleet like this. They're faster then we are, so we both can't run. All we can do is have one of us stay behind and hold them off while the other runs."

"Then let me stay, the fleet are more loyal to you."

"Recovering my Core has left you burnt out Tirpitz. You won't last long against the fleet. My Core has just been fully repaired, I can guarantee you an extra hour. Use it."

There was a tense silence.

"No," Tirpitz insisted. "We've been separated for too long for me to just abandon you. If one of us is going down, the other is going down."

Bismarck was quiet for a moment. He took another deep breath, and sighed in defeat. "All right; one more run, you and me together."

Bismarck turned back to the fleet and opened a transmission.

 _"This is East Atlantic Flagship Bismarck of the Kriegsmarine Council Fleet. We are laying in a course due north for the Bering Strait. Do not interfere with our operations. This will be your only warning. Please respond."_

 _"This is Flagship Wisconsin of East Pacific Mobile Unit 2. We have received orders from Flagship Midway to engage any and all ships not among the East Pacific Fleet."_

 _"Negative Wisconsin. Our only objective now is to return to the Atlantic. Do not interfere."_

 _"Scans of the surrounding area indicates the destruction of Flagship Midway. Somehow I get the impression that you're not here for peaceful negotiations. If the report we've received it correct, you two have gone rogue against the Fog. Our mission is your destruction."_

Bismarck clenched his fist in frustration. So much for negotiating.

"All right Tirpitz, this is our last stand. It's been an honor serving with you."

"The honor was all mine," Tirpitz replied with a grin. The Atlantic fleet approached, cannons charging and torpedos loading. The two opposing forces continued to get closer and closer, preparing for the battle quickly approaching. Just when Bismarck was about to order to open fire, something unexpected happened.

From the north, the beam from a Super Gravity cannon raced toward the Atlantic Fleet. Sweeping across the fleet, it quickly wiped out the destroyers and standard cruisers. Attention was quickly shifted to the fleet fast approaching from the north.

 _"Bismarck, when will you learn to never leave without a reliable escort?"_

Bismarck and Tirpitz eyes widened. They knew who this was.

"What is she doing here?" Bismarck whispered.

 _"Attention all ships in the vicinity. This is Acting Flagship Kriegsmarine Council Fleet Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen. I bring with me 12 destroyers, 16 cruisers, 4 battleships and 3 carriers. Bismarck and Tirpitz, we come to join you in battle._


End file.
